BRUSSELS ― Ursula von der Leyen has a fresh strategy for convincing opponents to back her: Listen more, talk to them, and even give a little ground.
Her tactics have been in evidence in the run-up to this week’s two European Parliament no-confidence votes ― and critics from rival parties have already signaled it’s working.
The European Commission president “has shown lately more willingness for consultation, cooperation and a stronger commitment to bring people together around the table, including [on] the 2026 [Commission] work program,” Valérie Hayer, the leader of the liberal Renew Europe group, told POLITICO. “It’s a long and overdue step in the right direction.”
Von der Leyen will rely on votes from Hayer’s group, as well as from her own center-right European People’s Party and the Socialists and Democrats, when MEPs vote on Thursday. The three centrist parties have traditionally supported the Commission president and voted her into office for a new term that started Dec. 1.
But it’s the second time in three months she’s faced a no-confidence vote, and these groups haven’t been happy with her decisions on trade policy, on the EU’s next seven-year budget, and — for the Socialists and liberals in particular — on her drive to cut back on red tape, which they see as dialing back green commitments.No one seriously expects her to fall ― the two motions have been brought by the far left and far right, and even together, their votes aren’t nearly enough to topple her. This time round, her team didn’t even ask Commission staff to carry out an assessment of the likely outcome like they did in July, two Commission officials said.
But the numbers do matter, particularly since von der Leyen will rely on support from across the center to push through her agenda in the coming months.
Her approach has now shifted away from the more combative style she demonstrated before the summer and which seemed to alienate many whose support she needs.
Her new three-step strategy underscores a more cooperative tone and a willingness to engage rather than confront, according to conversations with five officials from the Commission, von der Leyen’s party and the Parliament, who all spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the deliberations.
Step 1: Talk more, listen more
The shift started before her State of the Union speech in September, two Parliament officials told POLITICO. That was when von der Leyen’s cabinet pushed to wrap up a long-stalled revision of the Framework Agreement — the rulebook defining how the Commission and the Parliament work together.
Talks had dragged on for months, bogged down by the Parliament’s demands, which the Commission felt were too ambitious.
In the end, a deal emerged — modest because the two institutions differ greatly on how they should cooperate, but politically useful for them both. The Commission’s main goal was to defuse criticism that von der Leyen wasn’t doing enough to rebuild trust with MEPs.
She has since made visible gestures. In the State of the Union address she made a point of mentioning the horrors in Gaza — a sign she was willing to listen to socialist, green and leftist MEPs.
She also slipped in a reference to the Green Deal, once her favorite slogan for the climate rules she wanted to introduce, but largely ignored during last year’s European election campaign.
Both moves were aimed squarely at MEPs who felt their calls on these issues had long been ignored.
“There’s more contact at different levels since July,” said one Commission official close to von der Leyen’s team, pointing to outreach not just from von der Leyen but also from her top aides, including other commissioners.
On Tuesday, the Commission’s executive vice presidents will join the Parliament’s Conference of Committee Chairs — the internal body coordinating committee work. Von der Leyen won’t attend, but the EU executive will be “in listening mode” for the Parliament’s demands, according to the Commission official.
“Phone calls, meetings, dinners — there’s talk, negotiation, and finally compromise,” said an official from von der Leyen’s EPP group in the Parliament. “It’s simply politics.”
Step 2: Give (a little bit) more
The contacts between von der Leyen’s team and those of the EPP, Socialist and liberal chairs are ramping up ahead of the presentation of the Commission’s annual work program for 2026 — the document that lays out the EU’s legislative priorities.
The program is being used by centrist parties to stabilize the situation over the year to come, by signing off on a common program they can all support. It also doubles as a bargaining chip because it means von der Leyen can more likely count on better support from MEPs when legislation is proposed next year.
By Thursday, when MEPs hold the no-confidence vote in Strasbourg, von der Leyen will be back in Brussels to speak at the Global Gateway Forum — an annual event organized by the EU executive to boost secure infrastructure investments worldwide. It’s notable that she won’t be in the room when the votes are being cast ― so all the horse-trading will have to happen in the next few hours before she leaves Strasbourg.
Von der Leyen has packed her Strasbourg schedule with meetings with political groups, a Commission official said.
“The aim is to discuss the Commission work program, and these meetings will also be an enabler ahead of the vote, as groups will likely ask for political wins,” the official explained.
Another Commission official, however, played down the idea of last-minute giveaways. “There’s a lot of communication between the Commission and Parliament in the run-up to the work program — but it’s the same every year,” they said.
Step 3: Clash less
If in July her counter-attack was blunt ― anyone voting against her was essentially doing Russia’s work ― then three months on it’s clear she’s decided that the side-with-me-or-side-with-Moscow approach doesn’t work.
“I know there are some of you who are still unsure how to vote later this week,” she told MEPs during Monday night’s parliamentary debate. “This is why I want to renew my pledge that this College [of the 27 commissioners] will engage with you in whatever format is needed to try to find the answers together.”
Her tone throughout was noticeably more measured. “This is a trap, and we must not fall for it,” she said, referring to those she said were trying to divide the EU.
She even acknowledged that many criticisms “come from a place of genuine and legitimate concern,” citing Gaza, Ukraine, trade, and U.S. relations.
Even the delivery was lighter. She spoke for just seven minutes — less than half her speaking time in July.
And while the debate was still going on, she checked with Parliament President Roberta Metsola whether it was OK to leave the chamber with a thumbs-up sign.
Metsola allowed it ― in stark contrast to when von der Leyen walked out midway through a Parliamentary debate in January on her controversial decision to disburse billions of euros in EU funds to Hungary, drawing the ire of lawmakers on all sides.
It was a subtle change of approach. But it didn’t go unnoticed.
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